July 7th, 2024 - Ephesians 2:1-6 | Our Rebirth In Christ

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6




God is the greatest thing to have happened to us, he made us happen. We were created because of Him, and because of us, we go astray and sin through our natural ways. It is impossible for us to be without sin, we sin practically every time our minds are at work. What this means is that even if we live even the most virtuous lives through our actions, at our end when we are presented to God, all he would see is sin. This is where Christ comes into play. The Son of God, in all his mercy and perfection, came to earth and endures the tribulations and toils of a human being, he lived a life free of sin (which only He can do), and yet was tortured, mocked and crucified in shame. His suffering and sacrifice, his blood spilled, all for our worldly sins. This does not mean that now we can do whatever we please as Jesus died for it, it is told through Him and his apostles that our faith in Jesus as our savior is what justifies His sacrifice. It doesn't matter how many good or bad things we have done, but how much we believe in Christ and it is through our faith that our way of thinking and actions are changed to better represent Christ ways. This is how faith is the sole deliverer of goodness to this world. All good that has or will ever occur, was not only limited as an act of ourselves, but as an influence by the Holy Spirit, this is why your list of good actions do not really matter, as God is the cause for that. God is the only one who holds the grace. Why does Christ do this for us? We are not worthy, we have sinning thoughts whenever we even glance at an attractive thing such as a person, money, or food. We are born sinning from the moment we are conceived, and God, the perfect being who created us and everyone we love, somehow finds it in himself to save us from our own wretched souls. This is because he is simply perfect, and his perfect virtue is seen in all the influences he has on the world, such as the coming, the death and the ressurection of Christ. By devoting our lives, hearts and brains to him, we can see an inexplainable perfection in that faith that He will come again. We all are struggling with sin, we will all continue to sin going forward, but by acknowledging the evil in our hearts, having faith and making an active effort to live through that faith, we are saved and can rejoice in his perfection.

Sorry if I missed a week or two this month, one week I was away in Alberta and another is simply due to laziness, but I will try to continue on with this. I have faith in Jesus, and I have so much more to learn going forward. I believe my biggest struggle is my outward expression of my faith, as in a world where my faith is seen as ignorant narcissistic, I assume that people will naturally dislike me if I express that I am a christian. In looking to God, I need to understand that even if my faith gets me killed, so be it, as if I go away from it because of that, it is not a true faith, and my belief is only superficial. If I believe what I believe, I should give as much action as possible to be like Christ, and wear a large badge on my chest that says 'Christian', figuratively.

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.